The world of Star Trek is rapidly expanding, and apparently, there's yet another series potentially on the way. This is great news for fans of Star Trek, but one has to wonder if the recent reports of a Starfleet Academy series means that Picard, Discovery, or one of the other currently running shows is set to end soon.
Star Trek fans knew that Alex Kurtzman had a Section 31 spinoff still waiting to enter production, and now there is reportedly a series about Starfleet Academy in the works. The report comes from a New York Times interview (via CBR.com) with Kurtzman, which stated the series would be geared towards younger audiences. Seemingly, this will be another project similar to Star Trek: Prodigy, though no specifics on whether it will be CGI or live-action or anything like that were shared.
The report is exciting, though possibly a little concerning for fans of Star Trek: Discovery or Picard. Paramount+ chief of programming Julie McNamara and Alex Kurtzman revealed in an interview earlier in the year that while progress was being made on the Section 31 spinoff, it was unlikely to actually air until one of the currently airing Trek shows is done. That was a little concerning when it was just the one show waiting to go into production, and now it's looking like there is yet another one with this potential Starfleet show.
Currently, Paramount+ has Star Trek: Discovery, Picard, Short Treks, Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds, and Prodigy. As the most tenured shows of that bunch, it seems probable that Discovery and Picard would be the first to end. If Alex Kurtzman and Julie McNamara were serious about waiting for a Star Trek show to end before starting another one, those would seemingly be the obvious candidates. With that said Picard is still working on Season 2, which makes it seem like it shouldn't be close to ending already.
Of course, one can never know, and it's all speculation for now. There's definitely a reason to believe Star Trek: Picard may not last as long as the average acclaimed series. Producer Akiva Goldsman revealed that the entire premise of the show was intended to be a Short Treks episode. Patrick Stewart is also 81-years-old, and while he's looking spryer than I could ever hope to be at that age, one can never know how long he's willing to spend filming long days and traveling to set locations. There is no confirmation whether or not this potential Starfleet Academy series will have any bearing on any of the Trek shows in the future.
CinemaBlend will continue to keep an ear to the ground for new Star Trek shows that may surface, as well as continue to report on ones in development. For more of the latter, be sure to read up on the huge change to Seven of Nine made in Picard Season 2.
